Canada for early signing of CEPA to unlock trade potential

Toronto: India and Canada must sign two key trade agreements to unlock the full potential of their economic ties, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird has said as he called for a "robust" collaboration to combat terrorism and proliferation of nuclear weapons. "We're negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA. We look forward to greater momentum in these talks and plan to conclude a high-quality agreement by the end of this year," he said.

"A CEPA could boost Canada's and India's economies by at least USD 6 billion each year," Baird said after honouring 11 Indo-Canadians for their outstanding contributions to Canadian economy at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce's (ICCC) Annual Awards and Gala Night on Saturday. "Indeed, we need a completed trade agreement for two-way trade to blossom," Baird said adding that, "We're eager to finalise the foreign investment promotion and protection agreement (FIPPA), which would make it easier and more predictable for Canadian companies to do business in India.

"It will unlock the full potential of our trade relationship. And it will benefit both countries' businesses, workers and families." And while our defence relations with India have traditionally been modest, we're now working to boost cooperation on this front, he said. The minister said that both the countries need to collaborate more robustly on regional security challenges. Challenges like governance and counter-terrorism in Afghanistan... or emergency preparedness and the ending of civil wars in Burma... challenges that threaten the stability needed by our businesses and civil society to contribute fully.

And as Iran inches ever closer to nuclear weapons capability, Canada and India would work together on combating the proliferation of nuclear weapons, he said. In fact, Iran could learn a thing or two from the Canada-India experience. The Nuclear Cooperation Agreement assures civilian and peaceful use of nuclear material, equipment and technology from Canada. We're always willing to work with peaceful, freedom-loving nations, the Minister added.